Hello everyone. I just have time for a recap of yesterday’s 3-2 loss to the Kings at PPG Paints Arena. I’ll try to review the notable items.
- First period (8:48): Tommy Novak gave us a 1-0 lead, thanks to a beautiful net feed from Evgeni Malkin;
- First period (14:58): Anze Kopitar tied the game at 1 apiece with a power play goal when his sharp corner pass deflected off the corner Parker Wotherspoons cane knife and fooled novice goalkeeper Sergei Murashov;
- Second period (7:48): Anthony Mantha restored the Pens lead with a short-side snipe on the power play set up by Kris Letang And Ville Koivunen;
- Third period (4:49): 40 years old Corey Perry strolled down Main Street and scored off the rush to bring the score to 2 apiece;
- Third period (11:52): Kevin Fiala striped Erik Karlsson and crossed in front of the net before beating a spread Murashov high for the game winner;
- Murashov stopped 24 of 27 shots (.889 save percentage) and received generally good reviews. His feline speed and athleticism were evident and his rebound control was particularly good. The Kings’ two late goals were the result of both defensive errors and glaring weakness on the youngster’s part. (A random observation: he tends to play crouched. I wonder if he’ll be vulnerable to high shots like Fiala’s game winner?);
- Team wise, we beat the Kings 33-27 and played strong for 40 minutes before fading a bit in third place. Tired legs from playing back-backs and three games in four days? Maybe. Too bad we couldn’t keep it up to earn at least one point.
#Kings #rally #skid #Penguins